


The Battle of Delrakkin

by Embara



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Blood, Brief Romance That Lasts 2.5 Seconds Before They Go Back To Shooting Things, Ex-Mandalorian, F/M, Gen, Mandalorian, Pre-KOTET, Pre-KOTFE, Pre-Shadow of Revan, Violence, War, captured by the enemy, warzones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 22:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17068133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Embara/pseuds/Embara
Summary: Havoc Squad was sent on a mission to the Imperial world of Delrakkin to extract an undercover operative--but something has gone terribly wrong.





	The Battle of Delrakkin

Val couldn't help but think that something had gone horribly wrong. As if the explosions, shouting, and constant stream of blaster fire in her direction weren't enough to draw that conclusion, she was feeling the bite of dozens of little pieces of shrapnel digging into her side and arms. It hurt like hell to move, but moving was the only thing keeping her from getting vaporized by a thermal detonator or shot to pieces by a squad of Imperials. It was raining heavily, however, and traction was difficult to come by when your boots were sliding in the mud.

 _This was an extraction mission!_ Val thought angrily, flinching as a group of Imperials spotted her and began firing, forcing her to roll into cover(not an easy task with an assault cannon strapped to your back) behind a broken down walker. A walker!  _This had better be one hot-shot operative to be worth all this--_

The roar of an Imperial bomber overhead derailed her train of thought, and she swore before pulling herself to her feet and trying to put as much distance between her and that walker as possible. Suddenly, a wave of energy forced her to her knees as fire exploded from where the walker  _was._  Debris was flying, and Val's ears were ringing, and just as soon as she was able to feel the heat from the explosion wash over her, she felt searing hot, sharp pieces of  _even more damned shrapnel_ find its way through her armor and into her back. She needed to find the rest of Havoc.

Maybe she'd get lucky and find Elara first.

With a pained groan, Val lifted herself out of the mud. The jagged pieces of metal embedded in her skin made it hard to move, every twitch of a muscle causing the afflicted areas to protest in anguish. She took note of the fact that she was now losing blood at a worrisome rate, the rain washing the red from her armor and dissolving it into puddles of water under her feet. Her injuries appeared to be far worse than they felt.  _I need to find Elara._

Havoc had been separated amidst the chaos. The very first explosion took them all by surprise, and it seemed that the Imperials had one plan in mind: separate Havoc Squad, no matter the cost. So far, they had proven to be infuriatingly canny.

Val ran as fast as she could manage away from where she had been standing, seeking a better vantage point or one of her squadmates. After a minute of ducking more blaster fire, she heard a familiar whistle and turned her head to see Aric taking cover behind a speeder not far from her position. The Cathar was raining some blaster fire of his own down on the Imps, sniper never really leaving his eye. Val joined him, crouching down beside him and setting her cannon aside.

"Sir," He greeted her with a focused growl in his voice, "the Imps have us surrounded, but I think we can punch through with all the squad's firepower."

"They know that. It's why they separated us," Val panted, now aware of how dreadfully tired and hurt she sounded, "we need to regroup."

Val bit her tongue and took her rifle from her back, the pain in her torso beginning to ebb off into a dull throb now that she was sitting in cover. She twisted to shoot and took out four Imperial soldiers before she had to turn back around, sucking air through her teeth. This made Aric look at her with concern, his brow furrowed deeply.

"You're bleeding, Val. A lot. What happened?" He stopped shooting to check on her, gently leaning her forwards to see the damage to her back and then letting her rest back against their cover when her face contorted with the pain.

"Ah-! They… they had a lot of firepower focused on me for a while. Thought I'd never get out from under that rock before they blew it up." Val gave her husband a long, uncertain look. Havoc's definitely been in tougher situations, but this one was different in only one factor: They were entirely unprepared for it.

"Well, I figure we can do one of two things: we can surrender," Aric's distaste for that particular option was evident by the way he continued to reload his rifle, "or we can lay into them, keep the pressure on until we can get you to Elara."

He put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a look that said ' _this is going to hurt, but it's our only way out.'_ She gave him a firm nod, took a deep breath in like her training said to do, and launched herself to her feet, hoisting her cannon up with her. In a second, immense bolts of energy were spewing from the spinning mouth of her weapon, breaking through Imperial rank and file with brutal efficiency. Their numbers thinned twice as fast, even to the point where Aric and Val were both feeling a bit more confident.

It was not to be.

Almost simultaneously, a pulse from one of the Imperial weapons threw Aric backwards, and Val took a blaster shot to the gut that knocked her off her feet. She landed hard on her back, and couldn't bite back the wounded cry she made when that prompted the sharp metal pieces in her torso to dig in deeper. That, coupled with the new burning hole in her gut was almost enough to do her in. However, either that blaster wound wasn't as damaging as it felt or Val was now running on sheer willpower alone because she would be  _damned_ if she was going to let these Imps see her lying in the mud, broken and defeated.

 _Stand up, verd, the worst is yet to come._ Her father's words. True, if not exactly inspiring, and always spoken after a losing bout. Val grimly thought on what the old Mandalorian would say to her now if he were here.

 _Probably, he'd just shoot me._ Val reached behind her, took hold of the speeder she was taking cover behind mere moments ago, and dragged herself through the mud closer to it. Every inch was torture. Shrapnel was like fangs in your skin, burying themselves deeper with every moment of friction. Val was beginning to feel lightheaded. Slowly, she gathered her legs under her and propped herself up on her hands and knees. She lifted her head up ever so slightly and nearly fainted. Was she seeing stars? She was pretty sure the sky was still  _above_ her…

 _"There's one over here! Still alive! The Major!"_ An Imperial voice cut through the din of Val's pounding head, but all other sounds were lost to her after that. She groaned, both from pain and dread. She had hoped that the Imperial squad would just kill her there, give her a meaningful death. Clearly, they had other plans. Maybe it was too much to hope for with the Empire, anyways.

Rain began to fall harder. The sound was enough to ground her for a minute so she could look for Aric before she faced the Imps. There he was, against the cliff. He was unconscious-- caked in mud and blood, but still alive as far as Val could tell.  _Stars. Elara, find him soon._

Armored footsteps behind her brought her attention back to the hostile squad. She had plans to stand and face them one last time, but it seems that just listening to that sound sapped much of what was left of her strength. She turned herself around and rested against the speeder with a grimace.

"Salutations, Major Faith. Or is it Major Ordo?" The smug Imperial's voice came from within a dark helmet, warped by what sounded like a broken voice modulator. Val didn't have to see his face to imagine the cocky smirk the man must be wearing, as if he thought knowing her Mando name was her one weakness.

"Jorgan," Val quietly corrected him, determined to be insolent to the last, "What do I call you? Sergeant Shabuir?"

If the Imperial knew what that meant, he showed no sign. "That's Colonel, you Republic mongrel. Best not say anything you'll regret later."

"Apologies. Colonel Chakaar  _does_ suit you better."

The colonel waved his hand dismissively at her and turned back to his troops. "Shut her up. I want her prepared for her transfer to Sith Intelligence. I imagine they'll have some interest in what she has to offer."

So, that was to be her fate. They're going to take her to Dromund Kaas to likely be tortured to death by spooks. Val couldn't help the wave of anxiety that descended upon her as she considered what awaited her. The stories of Sith Intelligence's interrogation methods were enough to unsettle even some of the hardiest soldiers in the Republic. Val considered making a grab for her cannon, but soon realized it was too late for that level of resistance. Even if she had the strength to lift the damn thing, one of the Imperials was already on his way over to her. She barely had the time to close her eyes before he brought his armored boot down on her face, and she fell limply back against the speeder.


End file.
